Veggin’

Last year, at the DC Green Festival, I picked up Vegan Italiano – a cookbook featuring “meat-free, egg-free, dairy-free dishes from sun-drenched Italy.”

This cookbook proves that the vegan diet can indeed be adventurous and delicious.

Donna Klein begins Vegan Italiano with a quick overview of cooking in the various regions of Italy and then provides a little information about ingredients and how nutritional information was calculated. Then, it’s off to the races with 225 recipes including the whole gamut of soups, salads, pasta, rice/grains, vegetables, beans, pizza, breads, sandwiches and desserts.

There are no pictures in the book, but there are quick introductions to each recipe providing a serving suggestion, a hint or a menu idea. In paging through this cookbook, I noted how many of the vegetable dishes would be perfect on a Thanksgiving table – carrots with basil, butternut squash puree, green beans with wild mushroom and tomatoes. Many of these vegan recipes could be added to the table without the carnivore being any the wiser.

For the panini recipe, I used a whole wheat ciabatta bread and cooked everything under the broiler. Be aware when making the spinach-pesto sauce. I used three cloves of a very fresh organic garlic bulb and let’s just say that the In-house Taste Tester and I scared off all vampires in a 3-mile radius from our house after eating these sandwiches. So, if you want less pungent results perhaps cut down the amount of garlic and add more after you have a chance to taste test it.

These sandwiches were fresh and light on a summer’s evening and would be perfect to make when grilling because there really isn’t a lot of preparation involved. (You could make the pesto a day in advance.)

Panini with Grilled Eggplant, Roasted Peppers, and Spinach-Pesto Sauce
Vegan Italiano

1 large round eggplant (about 1 pound), cut into ½-inch-thick rounds
Table salt
1 medium green or red bell pepper (about 6 ounces, cut lengthwise into eights (Note: I used yellow pepper…I also considered using an orange pepper. The recipe is flexible.)
1 medium red onion (about 6 ounces), cut into ½-inch-thick rounds
2 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salte, preferably the coarse variety, and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8 large slices Italian bread (about 1 ¼ ounces each) (Note: I used whole wheat ciabatta.)

Spinach-Pesto Sauce (recipe below)

Sprinkle the eggplant slices with table salt and set in a colander in the sink to drain 30 minutes.

Prepare a medium-hot charcoal grill or gas grill, or preheat a broiler. Position the grill rack or over rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat source. If broiling, lightly oil a large baking sheet and set aside. Or, place a stovetop grilling pan with grids over medium-high heat.

Rinse the eggplant slices under cold-running water and drain well between paper towels.

Brush the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion on all sides with 2 tablespoons of the oil.

Grill or broil the vegetables until browned and tender, working in batches as necessary. As a general rule, cook the bell pepper 3 to 4 minutes per side, and the eggplant and onion 2 to 3 minutes per side. Place the vegetables on a large baking sheet with sides as they finish cooking.

When all the vegetables are done, drizzle with the remaining ½ tablespoon oil and balsamic vinegar, and the sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss gently with a large spatula to combine. Cover with foil and keep warm while grilling bread.

Grill or broil the bread on both sides until nicely toasted. Divide the vegetables evenly among 4 slices of the bread. Spoon equal portions of the Spinach Pesto Sauce (recipe below) over the vegetables. Top each with a slice of toasted bread and serve at once.

Spinach-Pesto Sauce
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1 cup loosely packed baby spinach leaves
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon coarse salt, or more to taste
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Combine the basil, spinach, garlic, and salt in a food processor fitted with the knife blade, or in a blender.

Process until finely chopped. Add the oil and process until smooth. If not using immediately, store tightly covered in the refrigerator up to 2 days.

Note from cookbook: This tasty pesto is also wonderful tossed with pasta, gnocchi, boiled potatoes, or steamed vegetables.

Spinach Pesto Nutrition Information
Per serving (about 4 teaspoons)
Calories 76
Protein 2g
Total Fat 7g
Sat. Fat 1g
Cholesterol 0mg
Carbohydrate 3g
Dietary Fiber 0g
Sodium 130mg

Sandwich Nutrition Information
Calories 393
Protein 9 g
Total Fat 18g
Sat Fat 3g
Cholesterol 0mg
Carbohydrate 50g
Dietary Fiber 8g
Sodium 549g

I’d like to take you on a little journey. A little journey through The “New Age Vegetarian Cookbook” printed in 1980 by The Rosicrucian Fellowship out of Oceanside, California. Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride as this cookbook is an interesting treasure trove of recipes and surprises…

So, the first thing I need to do is find tell a little more about The Rosicrucian Fellowship. It was founded in 1911 in Oceanside, California by Max Heindel. His mission was to “”prepare mankind for the coming age of Universal Brotherhood, the Age of Aquarius.” The group continues on today using a study course to educate and disseminate the Rosicrucian philosophy and “to spread the gospel and heal the sick.”

When I came across this cookbook, I had never heard about the group. I wondered if all were vegetarian and lo and behold, their website answers my exact question:

The Rosicrucians do not teach that everyone should be a vegetarian AT ONCE. In fact they teach that the vegetarian diet generates an abundance of energy, much more than flesh foods. This energy is not only physical but spiritual, so that if a man leads a sedentary life and is of a material disposition, engaged, perhaps, in sordid business transactions or in other lines of strictly material endeavor, this spiritual energy can find no vent and is apt to cause systemic disturbances. Only those who live an active, outdoor life, where the abundance of energy generated by the vegetarian food can be thrown off, or who transmute that energy into spiritual endeavor, can thrive on the vegetarian diet. Besides, we recognize that the heredity of many generations has made man partly carnivorous, so that in the case of most people the change from a mixed diet to vegetables should be gradual. The diet which suits one man is not fitted for another, VIDE the old proverb that “one man’s meat is another man’s poison,” and no hard and fast rules can be laid down which will apply equally to all people. Therefore, everything that we eat as well as everything else connected with our personality should be determined by ourselves individually.

With that knowledge in hand, let’s dig into this cookbook…Sure, this isn’t a slick four-color photo filled book. In fact, there are no photos or illustrations whatsoever. We only see almost 500 pages of dense Times New Roman text.

We begin with the preface which speaks directly to the Dear Reader and ends with:

Many more recipes may be added but for lack of space. We have tried, however, to make of the book a reasonably representative selection, and trust that having it in your kitchen shelf will make you happy.

I kind of like that sentiment. They address the cooking, the eating and the health but most of all…they want you to be happy.

After the preface, we then launch into a nice section about “useful food facts” and a discussion of what various vitamins and minerals do for the body and where to find them. Then there are 64 pages of food values in a table that includes calories, protein, iron, calcium contents.

Next is a comprehensive menu listings that included school and business lunches as well as the full days of breakfast, lunch and dinner. They explain:

There should be variety from day to day to make meals appetizing, along with variation in texture and color. It is in the combination of hot and cold foods, soft and solid ones, the sweet and tart, too, that the flavor is enhanced, with the use of herbs having a share in the enjoyment of meals.

The menus are extensive. And, when one of the items listed is “New Age Cole Slaw” what’s not to like? Each menu day even lists beverages including:  “Upon arising a glass of cherry juice” or “Upon rising a glass of pineapple juice.”

After the menu section, this is where the cookbook ramps up. Page after page of simple recipes, advice, guidance and suggestions. For example, there is a sandwich section where there are 48 suggestions for various combinations – egg, cream cheese, peanut butter, vegetable and all kinds of variations in between. One such suggestion:

Take equal parts of chopped carrots and pecan nuts and pass trough food chopper, using coarse cutter. Mix with mayonnaise. Spread on dark rye bread, toasted.

All recipes are simple and the instructions given are very concise. Sometimes too concise and you have to go into the context clues to figure out what you need to do. So, if they say “4 baked potatoes” in the ingredients you know to bake the potato before beginning the rest of the recipe.

It was when I was doing the perusal of the recipes for this post, the mystical qualities of this cookbook reared it’s head. I’ve used this cookbook several times but this time as I flipped I had to stop as I suddenly came across this:

Yes, a four leaf clover! Oh joy! Someone, who knows how long ago, placed the clover in the book for safe keeping. I smiled, happy with my find, and then turned the page:

Joy of joys! Two more four leaf clovers preserved in the pages! Yes, the writers were correct, having this cookbook on my shelf did make me happy!

The cookbook wraps up with a list of herbs that “provide simple home remedies such as our grandmothers used for minor indispositions.” The extensive herb section begins thusly:

Herbs have come to us so bedimmed by time that we no longer know their origin. Their use has relieved many ailments, serving as an aid to better living.

This introduction is followed by pages upon pages of herbs and their benefits. Such as:

Celandine, wile (plant): ruled by the Sun. Effective in problems of bladder, dropsy, kidney, jaundice, liver, and also for ulcers.

…

Pumpkin Seeds: ruled by Moon. Beneficial in expelling tapeworm by eating quantity of shelled ones at night, followed next morning by brisk cathartic to expel worm.

I shall remember that around Halloween when I’m carving pumpkins and toasting the seeds. Be gone tapeworms!

After the herb discussion, we head into food equivalents and a quite comprehensive index that does a great job cross referencing and listing by ingredient rather than by recipe title.

Sadly I have to draw this journey to a close. But don’t fret, there is one more section in the book -  a list of books authored by Max Heindel that includes the following titles:

• Occult Principles of Health and Healing
• The Message of the Stars
• Mysteries of the Great Operas
• Gleanings of a Mystic
• Simplified Scientific Astrology
• Simplifies Scientific Ephemeries
• The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception

To wrap things up, this is one of those cookbooks that you flip through and actually read when waiting for things to cook. It’s a collection of not only cooking advice and references but has some pretty durn good recipes to boot.

Now, on to the business at hand – a recipe from this mystical book. I let the four leaf clover be my guide and chose to make Stuffed Potatoes. I had yet another “happy moment” after getting to pound the living heck out of a bag of cashews and pecans. (I used a wooden crab mallet, laid the bag on the floor and began pulverizing them.) These stuffed potatoes were warm and nutty. I could have used a little more cream in the mixture as they came out a little dry. I noticed it when I was mashing up the stuffing but just didn’t think to add more milk to the mixture. We ate these as a main dish but they can certainly side alongside something else.

Stuffed Potatoes
New Age Vegetarian Cookbook

4 large baked potatoes
1/4 cup ground pecans and cashews
1/2 cup warm certified raw milk (Note: I used skim milk)
1/4 cup grated cheese (Note: I used cheddar)
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vegetable salt
2 tsp chopped parsley
Paprika

Before	After

Cut potatoes in half lengthwise; remove pulp and mash, adding other ingredients.

Beat until light.

Refill shells, leaving top rough.

Sprinkle with paprika and brown in 400 degree oven.

Entertaining with Cranks. Yes, that’s the name of this cookbook that I almost overlooked at a library book sale. It’s not until I saw the teeny-tiny subtitle, “Creating Sensational Meals the Vegetarian Way” that I knew I found something good. My edition is from 1987.

The original Cranks was a London vegetarian restaurant that expanded into a chain. However, due to some financial difficulties and eventual buyout only one remains in Devon. The Crank brand also lives on with a line of sandwiches, prepared meals, sauces and breads.

This is a neat little cookbook. The recipes are geared towards feeding guests but are easy enough to make for yourself on a weeknight after work. It’s a small cookbook, but they pack a lot into it from finger foods and entrees to biscuits and drinks. If you are getting ready to have people over, they give you the preparation and cooking times separately in case you need to prep ahead of time.

There is a centerpiece of photos that, although now a bit dated looking, do show several recipes at once in a nice little spread.

This recipe came out really really good. I modified it slightly from the original below by using greek yogurt and left out the lemon juice (as the greek yogurt already has a slightly acidic taste.) I would also either peel the cucumbers or consider straining the soup after it’s had a chance to chill a bit. I had a lot of little pieces of cucumber skin, that my blender couldn’t quite catch, that took away from the smoothness of the soup. Otherwise, this is a phenomenally easy soup to make.

Chilled Cucumber & Yogurt Soup
Entertaining with Cranks

• Large cucumber 1
• Tomatoes 1 lb (450 g)
• Natural yoghourt 1 pint (Note: I used 2 cups greek yogurt.)
• Tomato juice 1/2 pint (1 cup)
• Lemon rind, finely chopped 1 teaspoon
• Lemon juice 1 teaspoon (Note: If using greek yogurt, consider leaving out.)
• Salt and freshly group pepper
• Cayenne pepper, pinch
• Paprika 1/2 teaspoon
• Garlic clove, crushed 1
• Parsley, chopped 1 tablespoon
• Chives, chopped 2 tablespoons

Preparation time 10 – 15 minutes
No cooking required

Cut some thin slices of cucumber, allowing 3 per portion, and reserve for garnishing. Chop the remainder.

Combine all the ingredients in a blender goblet or food processor and blend until smooth. Adjust seasoning to taste. Chill thoroughly. Serve garnished with cucumber slices.

This a bonus recipe from a recent review in my cookbook challenge. It comes from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. The cook book has seven recipes for roasted nuts and salted seeds and I couldn’t pass them up. All of the recipes are really easy, and they create something different to have on hand for folks to munch on with their beer than just plain old peanuts.

The garam masala mixed with a slight sweet and salty flair worked out quite nicely. This was so good and unique that I’m glad that I doubled it. I was able to have some for a friend’s get-together and have enough leftover for just ourselves.

Roasted Cashews with Garam Masala
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

2 cups raw cashew nuts
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon Garam Masala
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt (Note: if cashews are already salted, skip salt)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Toss the nuts with the oil and toast on a sheet pan until lightly brown all over, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and toss with the garam masala, sugar, and salt.

Note from cookbook: You can also use a mixture of cashews, almonds, and pecans with these seasonings. The pecans are especially good since their crevices catch the seasonings.

Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone seems to peek out on many a vegetarian, and non-vegetarian, cookbook shelf. It is probably so ubiquitous because it’s one of the best vegetarian cookbooks out there featuring great recipes that are not overly fussy and taste great. My edition is from 1997.

This is definitely a cookbook that you can curl up on the couch and be lost in it for hours. There are sections about knives, kitchen equipment, seasonings, wines, menu planning and cutting and illustrated chopping techniques.

I like that the information about purchasing and preparing the vegetables are not in the front section but rather in with the recipes that are divided by the ingredient. So, all the chard recipes are introduced with a page about types of chard, what to look for, how to store, how to use, etc. I like this because as I’m perusing what to cook with a particular ingredient, I can take a look at information about the ingredient without having to remember to flip to the front or back of the book.

There are three sections of color photo panels inserted into the book.

Although I’m a fan of photos, I’m ok with few in this cookbook because Deborah Madison is able to pack in more information and more recipes. Some pages have as many as four recipes or serving suggestions listed meaning no wasted space at all – you definitely get your money’s worth.

The descriptions included with the recipe are written as if Deborah is in the kitchen with you.  She is also a fan of suggesting simple and alternative ways of preparing the recipes and adapting them to the ingredients you have on hand. That’s why I didn’t think twice when adjusting the Spaghetti with Zucchini and Basil recipe to Pasta with Zucchini and Basil. I still had the spirit of her recipe but instead used a large pearl couscous. I also used a 2% milk rather than cream.

We have been fortunate to be the beneficiary of a friend’s zucchini bumper crop in her garden and this recipe honored the freshness of the ingredients. This dish was creamy and filling with the basil bringing a brightness to the dish.

Pasta with Zucchini and Basil (Originally: Spaghetti with Zucchini and Basil)
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

1 1/2 pounds small or medium zucchini
1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil to taste
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly milled pepper
1 pound spaghetti
1/2 cup mixed freshly grated Parmesan and Romano
Handful basil leaves, torn into small pieces
1/2 cup half-and-half or milk (Note: I used 2% milk.)

Start heating a large pot of water for the pasta. Quarter the zucchini lengthwise, then cut into 1/2-inch chunks. Warm the oil with the garlic in a wide skillet. Add the zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Cook gently over medium heat, stirring every so often, until the squash is soft and browned in places, about 20 minutes.

Add the half-and-half and cook for 10 minutes more, stirring more frequently.

Meanwhile, add salt to the boil water and cook the pasta. Drain and toss it with the zucchini, cheeses, and basil. Taste for salt and season with pepper.

Here we go – it’s The Best-Ever Vegetarian Cookbook. Wait, hold on there…what makes you, the cookbook author, the one to self-proclaim that?

If it’s going to be the “best ever” then:

• I want full color photos of not only the finished dish, but in-between steps, too.
• I also want full color photos of vegetables and ingredients so I know exactly what a enoki mushroom, a kaffir leaf and spelt look like.
• I want easy instructions that result in beautiful looking dishes that taste great.
• I want not only cooking tips but tips and advice  on how to purchase ingredients and nutritional information.
• I want a variety of recipes from various nations using a variety of cooking techniques.
• I want to know the health benefits of each recipe.
• I want an index that has both reference to recipe titles and ingredients (both name and type).
• And, finally, I like when a cookbook lays flat on the counter…

Oh, wait, I think I just described The Best-Ever Vegetarian Cookbook so perhaps the title is correct. My edition is from 1999 and is edited by Nicola Graimes. (She was an editor for Vegetarian Living magazine.)

My one criticism of this “Best Ever” cookbook is minor. It is that the description of the dishes, while informative, are not very personal. As in, “I tasted this dish in a small Parisian cafe and knew I had to have it.” Instead the descriptions read, “This recipe is featured in Parisian cafes…” Sure that’s a picky detail so the cookbook can keep the “Best Ever” title…

The recipe I chose for my cookbook challenge is Eggplant, Smoked Mozzarella and Basil Rolls. These packets of warm eggplant were filled with an ooey gooey cheese that melted in your mouth. Fresh tomatoes and basil picked from your garden send this recipe beyond just a “normal dinner”. They are easy to make but do require you to heat up the kitchen with the broiler (on a hot summer night you might not want to do that). But, I can see these being made easily on the grill. (I also strayed from the original instructions at putting the aluminium foil directly on the baking rack, I instead used a baking sheet to hold the aluminum foil and eggplant. I know my abilities to create a mess out of nothing…so it’s better safe than sorry.) And, although the recipe says that the balsamic is option. Don’t kid yourself – it brings this recipe from a 9 to a 10.

Eggplant, Smoked Mozzarella and Basil Rolls
The Best-Ever Vegetarian Cookbook

• 1 large eggplant
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling (optional)
• 6 ounces smoked mozzarella cheese, cut into 8 slices
• 2 plum tomatoes, each cut into 4 slices
• 8 large basil leaves
• balsamic vinegar, for drizzling (optional)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cut the eggplant lengthways into 10 thin slices and discard the two outermost slices. Sprinkle the slices with salt and leave for 20 minutes. Rinse, then pat dry with paper towel.

Preheat the broiler and line the rack with foil. (Note: I put the foil on a baking sheet.) Place the eggplant slices on the grill rack and brush liberally with oil. Broil for 8 – 10 minutes until tender and golden, turning once.

Remove the eggplant slices from the broiler, then place a slice of mozzarella and tomato and a basil leaf in the center of each eggplant slice, and season to taste.

Fold the eggplant over the filling and…

broil seam-side down until heated through and the mozzarella begins to melt. Serve drizzled with olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar, if using.

(Health benefits: Eggplant are low in calories but frying will dramatically increase their calorific value. Salting the eggplant first not only draws out any bitter juices, it also makes the flesh denser, so that less fat is absorbed during cooking. Eggplant contains bioflavonoids, which help to prevent strokes and hemorrhages.

Moosewood Restaurant. Just the very words make a vegetarian’s mouth water. This famous vegetarian restaurant in Ithaca, which began in 1973, has spun-off a series of cookbooks and packaged meals that usually don’t steer you wrong.  In fact, I have a very dog-eared copy their  Moosewood Restaurant: Low-Fat Favorites cookbook that was written in 1996.

The cookbook focuses, obviously, on more healthful Moosewood creations and has informative sections on nutrition facts, low fat cooking tips and nutritional terms. I like that the index is enhanced with recipe lists in various categories – 10% or less fat, vegan, and children’s favorites.

Tucked in the back are further charts and nutritional analysis of various foods. (I really need to remember that I have these.)

There are no photos at all in the cookbook but expect lots of nutritional information and notes that accompany each recipe. You don’t have to worry with this cookbook – you’ll know exactly what you’re eating.

This is an extensive cookbook with so many selections I often have trouble choosing what to make out of it. Another recipe that came out of this tome was this Carolina Kale.

This Indian Chickpea Spread was a sort of spiced cold hummus dip that goes well with toasted pita chips or vegetable crisps. Well, that’s how we ate it. The recipe also suggests serving it as a sandwich spread, as a side dish or with vegetable crudites. You can’t go wrong with any of those options. I did add a little more cumin, garam masala and cayenne at the end than what was called for to punch up the flavors.

Indian Chickpea Spread
Moosewood Restaurant: Low-Fat Favorites

• 1/2 cup minced onions
• 1 teaspoon canola or other vegetable oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (16 ounce can)
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• salt to taste

In a heavy or nonstick skillet, saute the onions in the oil on low heat for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic, coriander, cumin, garam masala, and cayenne and saute for another minute, stirring constantly to prevent sticking.

Stir in the tomatoes, cover, and gently simmer for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, drain the chickpeas, reserving the liquid (or water) to make a smooth puree.

Stir the puree into the simmering tomato mixture, add the lime juice and cilantro, and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes. Add salt to taste. Serve hot or cold.

The title of my next cookbook is a novel in itself: From a Monastery Kitchen: A practical cookbook of vegetarian recipes for the four seasons complete from soups to desserts with breads. This cookbook, written in 1976, was inspired by a visit to a monastery in the Hudson Valley. The recipes were compiled by Elise Boulding with the assistance of Brother Victor Avila.

Divided by season, each section features starters to deserts. Illustrations are more whimsical and have nothing to do with the final dish.

Each recipe is framed with, as the author describes it, “a collage of quotations and art that is intended to reflect the nearly two-thousand-year-old experience of monastic life as an affirmation of wholeness, simplicity, and joy.” Many are good reading while you are waiting for your pot to boil or your food to cook.

These are a few the struck a cord with me:

“A little Madness in the Spring is wholesome even for the King” – Emily Dickinson

“Many’s the long night I dreamed of cheese – toasted, mostly” – Robert Louis Stevenson

“Many excellent cooks are spoiled by going into the arts” – Gauguin

“The bigger the dairymaid, the better the cheese” – Derbyshire Proverb

This is a strange yet fascinating little cookbook. The instructions and recipes are simple but sometimes basic steps or directions are missing. For example, one recipe begins, “cook the apples, using as little water as possible, sweetening at the end of cooking”. How am I cooking the apples? In a pan? In a skillet? In the oven? How long am I cooking them?

This is a primarily vegetarian cookbook but there are a few fish dishes included. The index is divided by type of dish such as “egg and cheese dish”, “pancake and cereal dishes”, “vegetable dishes”. The listings underneath are by recipe title. So, if you don’t know what Beans Bengal contains, you have to flip to the recipe page. (By the way, it’s yellow split peas, cheddar cheese, curry powder, onion, green pepper, olive oil and seedless raisins).

There is also a page of “useful culinary instructions” with some interesting tidbits about how to make “hi-protein matzo balls” (“Follow recipe on box, double egg and add wheat germ.”) and a heading called “Curry” (“Is very digestible. (OK for persons with ulcers!) Use in white sauces.)” I did learn how to “pseudosaute” with the instructions appearing at the end of the recipe below.

I did find that there is a new edition of the cookbook printed in 2002. Looking through it, there are fewer quotations and excerpts, and the recipes are updated. (I compared the chickpea soup recipe and the instructions changed from, “Boil, in plenty of water, until soft. Chop vegetables and simmer together with seasonings. Combine with cooked chickpeas and serve as soup.” to, “Add the remaining ingredients and cook slowly over medium heat for about an hour, until chickpeas and vegetables are tender.”)

I found that in the 1976 edition, while some of the recipes are a bit simple, they do sort of provide a foundation for elaboration. And, most a pretty adaptable, like this recipe. The recipe reads as if someone is verbally telling giving you the recipe and giving approximations a la “you can throw a little bit of this, and a little bit of that and then cook it. ” So, I decided to do just that.

Instead of rice, I used risotto. I omitted the beans and used a smoked tofu instead of regular tofu. (If you haven’t used smoked tofu before, run out and get some, it adds depth to any dish and provided a sort of, dare I say, “meaty” flavor.) Towards the end of cooking, I just ended up throwing in all the mushrooms I had and could also see throwing in steamed broccoli, snap peas and other asian vegetables into the sauce. I think the key with this dish is that if you’re adding vegetables, precook them and then drench them with the sauce.

Poor Person’s Sukiyaki
From a Monastery Kitchen, 1976 edition

• 1 cup scallions or onions finely sliced
• 1/2 cup light cooking sherry or sweet wine
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 cups fresh spinach or well-drained frozen (any steamed greens can be substituted)
• 2 cups mushrooms, if available, other vegetables can be added
• sugar to taste if desired
• soy bean curd (tofu) cut in squares (if available)
• 4 cups cooked or 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice (or any combination of rice and beans such as blackeye peas and rice, pinto beans and rice, etc.)

Cook scallions or onions according to the “pseudosauteing method” (see below).

Add sherry and soy sauce and stir.

Add spinach and other vegetables. Simmer 3 or 4 minutes. Add a little sugar as sauce cooks, if desired.

Remove from heat. Add tofu and pour mixture over rice or rice and bean combination. Other vegetables can be added. Amounts of all ingredients can be varied. Serves 6 to 8.

“Pseudosauteing technique”: delicious and healthy To give a sauteed taste without indigestibility of fried foods: instead of sauteing in butter or oils, cook in just enough slightly sugared water or broth so that when fully cooked water is all absorbed and fod is beginning to stick to the pan and burn a little. Quickly pour in a little cold-pressed oil; stir it up well and scrape all the brown which had begun to burn. (This retains all the vitamins from vegetables and oil, uses oil as seasoning, and still gives the sauteed taste. Recommended for carrots, greens, potatoes, parsnips, onions, string beans, broccoli, etc.) People who can’t digest fried foods can eat these. Salt and pepper to taste after cooking.

I had a lovely bunch of beets from my CSA delivery this week and I was fully prepared to make a recipe for Harvard Beets. Well, I must have been prepared only mentally because my pantry did not have the honey nor the white wine vinegar the recipe called for. I was unwilling to heat back out to the store to go get these missing ingredients.  So, back to the drawing board or in this case The Greens Book which saved the day. The cookbook was just featured in another post for chard baked with parmesean cheese. You can see my review of this cookbook in that post. (I obviously like it if I’m using it again, right?)

In this recipe, you use both the beets and the greens and end up with a very zesty and strong salad. The beauty of this recipe is that it is easy to adjust depending on how many beets you have and it really does not involve a lot of intense labor to make it. Just be prepared to have your oven going for a while to roast the beets. I roasted our kitchen on what was already a hot and humid evening.

I’m not normally a fan of beets, but made this way I didn’t mind eating them at all.

Beet and Beet Green Salad
The Greens Book

3 pounds beets, about 2 inches in diameter, with tender greens
salt and freshly ground pepper
about 3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
about 3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the greens from the beets, leaving about 1 inch of stems on the beets. Trim the tails of the beets to about an inch. Scrub the beets well.

Wrap each beet tightly with double alumninum foil. Place the beets in a baking dish and bake about 1 hour, or until tender.

Remove the beets from the dish and cool until beets can be handled. Remove the foil.

Trim and peel the beets while they are still warm.

Slice the beets thinly and season with salt and pepper. Toss with a tablespoon each of olive oil and vinegar.

Meanwhile, prepare the beet greens. Cut the leaves from the stems.

Cut the stems in two to three pieces. Rinse the leaves and stems well. Blanch the stems for about 4 minutes in boiling lightly salted water.

Add the leaves and cook until just tender, another 2 or 3 minutes. Drain the greens well and cool until warm to the touch. Toss with the slice beets and the remaining olive oil and vinegar. Adjust the seasoning and serve.

The Greens Book has become my “go to” cookbook when I’ve been overwhelmed with kale or chard from my CSA delivery. My edition of The Greens Book is from 1995 and is written by Susan Belsinger and Carolyn Dille.

As in any good niche ingredient cookbook, most of the writing is about the ingredient at hand. In this case it’s greens. Many of the recipes are versatile enough to be used on any kind of green. The first section gives an in-depth review of the various types of greens, where to find them, the varieties, the history and how to cook them. There are also brilliant large photos of the green varieties.

It’s a little disappointing that the rest of the cookbook only has a photos to introduce each section. (Also, unfortunately, there isn’t a description of what the dish is so you have to leaf through a bit and figure out what it is.)

The recipe pages have a nice introduction often with substitution suggestions but no nutritional information.

The index is also easy to use as it’s split into two sections – topic and ingredient. What I like is the cross listing if a recipe works for more than one type of green. For example, “ancho corn pudding with wilted greens” is listed under “chard”, “epazote”, “lambs-quarters”, “mustard leaves”, and “spinach”. You can’t go wrong finding something based on the ingredient you have.

This is not a vegetarian only cookbook but the majority are sans meat. But, that’s ok, it’s easy for me to either turn the page or leave the meat out of the recipe.

I chose this recipe because I was looking for a quick side dish for a giant load of swiss chard I received. Admittedly, the amount of butter and cheese used in this dish might arch an eyebrow with caloric concern, but this tastes oh-so-good.

Chard Baked with Parmesean
The Greens Book

3 pounds chard
salt and freshly ground pepper
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesean cheese

Wash the chard well and cut off the stems. Trim the stems and cut them into 2-inch lengths. Cut the leaves crosswise into 2-inch strips. (Note: I used scissors to cut the chard.)

Blanch the stems in lightly salted boiling water for about 3 minutes.

Add the leaves and blanch for about 1 1/2 minutes longer. Drain the chard well and transfer it to an oven-proof dish. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Preheat the over to 450 degrees. Brown the butter in a saute pan.

Pour the browned butter over the chard and toss well. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the chard.

Bake 10 minutes or so, or until the parmesan is bubbling and pale golden brown. Serve hot.